Recording device of student learning process

ABSTRACT

A branched teaching machine that selects frames for presentation to the student in accordance with individualistic responses is connected to the remote control of a rotatable slide projector and causes the slide projector to move either forward or reverse in step with its search for the frame to be selected and presented. As the frame is presented, a slide in the slide projector may also be shown. As a primary feature of this invention, a printed paper record, attaChed to the rotatable tray, and giving a frame-by-frame resume of the teaching machine&#39;&#39;s branched programs, is electrically marked at all frames viewed by the student. Hence, a permanent, readily readable record is provided which can be used by a teacher to diagnose the path the student took in going through the teaching machine program.

United States Patent [7 2] Inventor Jack W. Hannah 700 Grace Street,Mansfield, Ohio 44901 [21} Appl. No. 875,718 [22] Filed Nov. 12, 1969[45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [54] RECORDING DEVICE OF STUDENT LEARNINGPROCESS 12 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 35/48 R, 346/33 S, 346/74 SB [51] Int. Cl 60% 5/00 [50}Field of Search 35/8, 9, 48 R, 48 B; 346/74 SB, 33 R, 33 S, 103,125,132; 40/7805 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,172,2163/1965 Mueller 35/48 3,224,008 12/1965 l-lawley 346/74 SB PrimaryExaminer-Wm. H. Grieb Attorney-Sherman and Shalloway ABSTRACT: Abranched teaching machine that selects frames for presentation to thestudent in accordance with individualistic responses is connected to theremote control of a rotatable slide projector and causes the slideprojector to move either forward or reverse in step with its search forthe frame to be selected and presented. As the frame is presented, aslide in the slide projector may also beshown. As a primary feature ofthis invention, a printed paper record, attaChed to the rotatable tray,and giving a frame-by-frame resume of the teaching machine's branchedprograms, is electrically marked at all frames viewed by the student.Hence, a permanent,

,readily readable record is provided which can be used by a teacher todiagnose the path the student took in going through the teaching machineprogram.

PATENIEDJANI I [972 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 Rev A Fwd B COmc I TimFrame-Addition I Z Info-example, arranqernen'r of numerals 2 7 3 .Ques.Arrange 4l+3256 30 4 wrong ans. to 3. Put 4 under 3, 2 4

5 wrong ans. to 3. Pu! 4 under 6, 2 5 6 Ans. 3 OK. Ques. Arrange 527+19o6 7 wrong ans. to 6. Put lundor 2, *8 7 0 MM J'ACK w. HANNAH INVENTOR.

Bn%m f RECORDING DEVICE OF STUDENT LEARNING PROCESS There are severalvarieties of teaching machines which 'branch" a student through aprogram. Briefly, such machines handle a film strip or microfiche cardwhich contains numerous presentations or frames. Some of these framespresent information to the student and move off the presentation toanother frame whenever the student responds by pressing some specificbutton (one machine automatically moves off certain of its frames aftersome preset period of time). Others of the frames contain a questionwith multiple choice answers; the student picks the answer he thinks iscorrect and presses a response button corresponding to this answer.Still other frames contain corrective information so that whenever awrong answer is chosen one of these frames is shown to help the studentbetter understand his specific error. Thus, it is evident that a programon one of these types of teaching machines will have frames on its filmstrip or microfiche card that a student may never see because hisresponses never require their corrective or supplementary information.Two students going through the same program will normally not see anidentical sequence of frames because they will misunderstand differentareas of the program and be given different corrective or remedialframes.

Such a teaching machine and its program is basically designed forindividualized instruction, and the student succeeds and learns byanswering questions and seeing reinforcing frames when he is right orseeing corrective frames when he is wrong. He may be forced by theteaching machine and its program to go back over material where hisanswers show weak comprehension. Thus, the very fact that he finallycompletes a program shows that he has learned (or that he is a verylucky or patient guesser). Nevertheless, it is often very desirable foran instructor to be able to know just where a student had difficultieswhile going through a program on a teaching machine. The device of thisinvention provides a simple means whereby such a record can be obtained.It consists of a sheet of paper attached to the tray of a slideprojector, which can be of the type manufactured by the Eastman KodakCompany and marketed under the trademarkv Kodak Carousel." Thedescription of the device that follows will be made in conjunction withsuch a slide projector since same is readily available on the market andadaptable to the device of this invention.

The paper connected to the tray of the projector contains a digest ofthe contents of each frame (limited to 80 frames when using a KodakCarousel Slide Projector which has 80 slide compartments around itstray). Each digest on the paper is spaced so as to fall in the area ofone slide compartment.

The paper record is attached to the tray so that it moves whenever theslide projector tray moves. The projector tray is made to move in stepwith the film movement of the teaching machine. Whenever the teachingmachine stops moving its film and makes the presentation of a frame, thetray stops its circular movement and the area of paper at the slidecompartment positioned for a slide presentation is electrostaticallymarked. Hence, since the tray is slaved to the selective movements ofthe teaching machine and since the paper with its digest of programcontents is attached to the tray, and since whenever the tray stops amark is made on the paper, there thus is produced on the paper a seriesof marks that show just which frames were viewed by the student.

Besides a record of student progress through a program, there are otherapplications served by this invention. Recent attention has been givento means for automatic acquisition of patient history in the field ofmedicine. A series of frames shown a patient ask questions about hismedical history. Cer tain of his answers cause a number of thequestioning frames not to be shown at all as unrelated to a particularpatient. Thereby, the presentation of questions is in many ways similarto the teaching process of the aforementioned teaching machines. Butwhen the patient does give a relevant response, as, for example, bysaying Yes" to the question, Have you had dizzy spells within the pastsix months?" then a device of the subject invention would mark thisquestion on thepaper. The physician would thus have a readable record ofthe patient's responses made to the questions asked on the machine.

A detailed description of this invention follows with reference to thefigures wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a teaching machine interfaced with and con trolling acircular slide projector on which is affixed a paper card for receivinga record of responses made on the teaching machine;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the device which interfaces outputsfrom the teaching machine to control movement of the slide projector andmark any record paper attached thereto;

FIG. 3 shows a portion of a typical sheet of record paper and thespacing of the digest of frame content thereon, plus typical appearanceof marks made whenever a frame is presented to the student.

Looking then at FIG. 1 the teaching machine 1 sets before a student whostudies presentations made on its screen 2. The student responds tothese presentations by pressing one of the several pushbuttons 3. (Fordetailed descriptions of the operations of one such teaching machinerefer to US. Pat. No. 3,191,3l5 of .l. W. Hannah issued June 29, 1965).Within the machine 1, there is a film strip which contains a number ofdifferent frames. The selection of a particular frame is made by theteaching machine moving the film strip past frames either in a forwarddirection or a reverse direction. The amount of movement is governed bylogic determined ultimately by the manner in which the film strip isprogrammed and the particular pushbutton 3 actuated by the student.Thus, the student may be looking at the fifth frame on the film stripand will push a button causing a determination to be made to skip himpast the sixth and seventh frames and present the eighth frame. Or, hemay choose a button which causes the strip to go in reverse to frametwo, skipping past frames four and three.

Thus, the teaching machine is capable of providing three importantsignals concerning the movement of the frames on its filmed program. Itcan tell whether the film is advancing forward on frames or going backover frames (forward or reverse); it can indicate the moment it reacheseach frame (even though it may pass such a frame by and not stop there);and it can indicate when it does stop at a frame and is proceeding tomake a presentation. These signals are shown being taken from theteaching machine on wires 4, to the control box 5 (contents of thecontrol box 5,the interface-are principally shown in FIG. 2). Leads 6 gofrom the control box 5 and are plugged into the remote controlreceptacle of the slide projector 7. This slide projector has a turrettray 8 containing compartments 9 into which slides may be inserted. Thisturret tray is capable of revolving either clockwise or counterclockwiseas directed by built-in mechanisms which may be actuated by remotecontact closures. These closures are being made in the device of box 5through leads 6.

Affixed to the tray 8 is a record card 10. Fastened to the body of theprojector is a spark generator (i.e., a pair of electrodes) 11 whichelectrically by means of high voltage punches ahole through the paperrecord card 10, thus marking it. The current to produce this spark comesfrom box 5 through leads 12.

Of course, wherever the teaching machine 1 stops film movement in orderto present a frame, the slide projector tray will stop as well and aslide located in its compartment of the tray 8 will be projected. Thiscan be a source of supplementary visual presentation to accompany theteaching machine.

The schematic of FIG. 2 shows the three wires 4a, 4b, and 4c which areoutputs from the teaching machine and inputs to the control box 5 whichcontrols the slide projector tray. A signal on wire 40 indicates themovement of the film in the teaching machine is in a reverse direction.This signal is amplified in the amplifier 13 in order to actuate therelay contact 14. If the relay contact 14 is not actuated, contact ismaintained on the lead 6b which goes into the B-pin of the plug 15 thatfits into the remote control receptacle of the slide projector tray.Signals on this B-pin cause the tray to rotate forward, i.e., from acompartment bearing a low numeral towards compartments bearing highernumerals. On the other hand, when contact 14 is actuated because theteaching machine is moving in reverse, then contact is made on lead 6awhich goes into the A-pin of plug 15, causing the tray to rotate inreverse.

The stepping mechanism of a Kodak Carousel Slide Projector operates inthe forward direction for one step (i.e., from one slide compartment 9to an adjacent slide compartment) when leads 6: and 6b are brought intocontact for a fraction of a second. It operates in the reverse directionfor one step when leads 6c and 6a are brought into contact for afraction of a second. Hence, it is readily seen that lead 60 is thecommon. It has already been explained in the previous paragraph howdetermination is made as to whether lead 60 or 6b will be used to carrya signal to a Kodak Carousel Slide Projector. The purpose of the relaycontact 16 is to momentarily close and cause rotation of the tray forone step. Relay contact 16 is actuated by the output of AND-gate 17which is actuated whenever a signal appears on leads 4c and 4b. A signalon lead 4c appears whenever the teaching machine is moving its filmstrip, and a momentary signal appears on 4b at the instant each frame ofthe film strip is reached. Therefore, when the film strip moves to a newframe to make a presentation by passing three other frames on the filmstrip, there will be a continuous signal on lead 4c while the movementoccurs and four momentary signals on lead 4b as the three other framesare passed and the fourth frame is reached and settled upon. Thecombinations of signals cause four output pulses from AND-gate 17 whichactuate and release relay contact 16 four times which cause fourclosures to the remote control mechanism of a Kodak Carousel SlideProjector, which rotates the tray 8 four steps. Hence, the tray rotationis stepped or slaved to the film motion of the teaching machine.

Whenever the teaching machine finally stops, the signal on lead 4c ischanged in voltage level which changes the output of transistor 18. Thisproduces a signal through the coupling capacitor 19 to activate thetransistor 20. The length of time of the activation is a factor of thesize of the capacitor 19 and the resistor 25. Hence, there is amomentary input to the base of transistor 20 whenever the teachingmachine stops on a frame to present it to the student. As explainedabove, the tray will have rotated to a slide compartment correspondingto such a frame. The output of transistor 20 momentarily operates therelay contact 21, which places 1 10 volt AC line voltage on the primaryof the transformer 22. The secondary of the transformer 22 produces ahigh voltage in the order of 2,000 volts which appears for a very brieffraction of a second. This is conducted to electrodes 23 and 24 whichare affixed to the side of the slide projector as shown in FIG. I atitem 11. The record paper or card 10, which is secured to the tray andmoves with its rotation, slides between the electrodes 23 and 24.Whenever the high voltage appears, a small hole is burned into thepaper, producing a readily distinguishable mark.

FIG. 3 illustrates a typical record card that would be taped orotherwise affixed to the tray. It is divided by lines spaced tocorrespond to the circumferential distance between slide compartments ofthe tray. In the space between the lines are words which identify thecontent of the corresponding frame on the sequence of frames of theprogrammed film strip used in the teaching machine. This wording is not,of course, the whole content of the words on a frame but enough to givetheteacher the gist of the frame. The burn holes appear as marks alongthe edge of the record card, as shown by items 26. It thus becomesevident when looking at the record card illustrated in FIG. 3 that thestudent was presented frames 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, but skipped frames 4 and5. This is readily interpreted that the student did not miss thequestion presented at frame 3 because he was not presented either of thecorrective frames 4 or 5. On the other hand, he did miss the question atframe 6, having chosen an answer as indicated by the presentation offrame 7 that in adding 527+l90 the numbers are arranged as Although apreferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, itis to be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterationscan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For use with a teaching device, recording apparatus comprising amovable member, means for moving said member discrete steps in forwardand reverse directions and adapted to be activated by electrical signalsfrom the teaching device, means for attaching record material to saidmember, and means for marking the record material with a high-voltageelectrical charge whereby the record material is marked when said memberis moved to a specified position as determined by the teaching device.

2. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said recordingapparatus includes a slide projector having a movable tray defining saidmovable member.

3. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said tray iscircular and is rotatably movable.

4. The combination comprising a slide projector having a movable trayfor receiving slides, control means adapted to receive electricalsignals from a controlling source to selectively move said tray, meansfor attaching record material to said tray and means adapted to receivethe electrical signals from the controlling source to mark the recordmaterial in response thereto.

5. The combination comprising a teaching device including means forselectively moving a film to predetermined frames, and signal generatingmeans for providing electrical signals corresponding to operation ofsaid film moving means; and recording apparatus including a movablemember, means for attaching record material to said movable member,control means connected with said signal-generating means to drive saidmovable member in response to said electrical signals, and marking meansconnected with said signal generating means to mark said record materialat specified positions corresponding to said predetermined frames inresponse to said electrical signals.

6. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said electrical signalsinclude first signals representing the direction of movement of saidfilm and second signals representing the status of said film as beingmoving or stationary, said control means receives said first signals tocontrol the direction of movement of said movable member in the samedirection as said film, and said marking means receives said secondsignals to mark said record material when the movement of said filmstops.

7. The combination as recited in claim 6 wherein said marking meansincludes a timing circuit responsive to said second signals to mark saidrecord material only once after the movement of said film stops.

8. The combination as recited in claim 7 wherein said marking meansincludes means responsive to said timing circuit for providing ahigh-voltage spark to mark said record material.

9. For use with a teaching device having a film selectively movable topredetermined frames and providing electrical signals corresponding tomovement of the film, recording apparatus comprising a movable member,means for attaching record material to said movable member, controlmeans for receiving the electrical signals from the teaching device todrive said movable member in response to the electrical signals, andmarking means for receiving the electrical signals from the teachingdevice to mark the record material at specified positions correspondingto the predetermined frames in response to the electrical signals.

10. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the electricalsignals provided by the teaching device include first signalscorresponding to the direction of movement of the film and secondsignals representing the status of the film as being moving orstationary, said control means being adapted said marking means includesa timing circuit responsive to the second signal to mark the recordmaterial only once after the movement of the film stops.

12. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 11 wherein said markingmeans includes means responsive to said timing circuit for providing ahigh-voltage spark to mark the record material.

I! i i i i

1. For use with a teaching device, recording apparatus comprising amovable member, means for moving said member discrete steps in forwardand reverse directions and adapted to be activated by electrical signalsfrom the teaching device, means for attaching record material to saidmember, and means for marking the record material with a high-voltageelectrical charge whereby the record material is marked when said memberis moved to a specified position as determined by the teaching device.2. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said recordingapparatus includes a slide projector having a movable tray defining saidmovable member.
 3. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 2 whereinsaid tray is circular and is rotatably movable.
 4. The combinationcomprising a slide projector having a movable tray for receiving slides,control means adapted to receive electrical signals from a controllingsource to selectively move said tray, means for attaching recordmaterial to said tray and means adapted to receive the electricalsignals from the controlling source to mark the record material inresponsE thereto.
 5. The combination comprising a teaching deviceincluding means for selectively moving a film to predetermined frames,and signal generating means for providing electrical signalscorresponding to operation of said film moving means; and recordingapparatus including a movable member, means for attaching recordmaterial to said movable member, control means connected with saidsignal-generating means to drive said movable member in response to saidelectrical signals, and marking means connected with said signalgenerating means to mark said record material at specified positionscorresponding to said predetermined frames in response to saidelectrical signals.
 6. The combination as recited in claim 5 whereinsaid electrical signals include first signals representing the directionof movement of said film and second signals representing the status ofsaid film as being moving or stationary, said control means receivessaid first signals to control the direction of movement of said movablemember in the same direction as said film, and said marking meansreceives said second signals to mark said record material when themovement of said film stops.
 7. The combination as recited in claim 6wherein said marking means includes a timing circuit responsive to saidsecond signals to mark said record material only once after the movementof said film stops.
 8. The combination as recited in claim 7 whereinsaid marking means includes means responsive to said timing circuit forproviding a high-voltage spark to mark said record material.
 9. For usewith a teaching device having a film selectively movable topredetermined frames and providing electrical signals corresponding tomovement of the film, recording apparatus comprising a movable member,means for attaching record material to said movable member, controlmeans for receiving the electrical signals from the teaching device todrive said movable member in response to the electrical signals, andmarking means for receiving the electrical signals from the teachingdevice to mark the record material at specified positions correspondingto the predetermined frames in response to the electrical signals. 10.The recording apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the electricalsignals provided by the teaching device include first signalscorresponding to the direction of movement of the film and secondsignals representing the status of the film as being moving orstationary, said control means being adapted to receive the firstsignals from the teaching device and including means for driving saidmovable member in a direction corresponding to the direction of movementof the film in the teaching device, and said marking means being adaptedto receive the second signals and responsive thereto to mark the recordmaterial in response to the second signals representing the film asbeing stationary.
 11. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 10wherein said marking means includes a timing circuit responsive to thesecond signal to mark the record material only once after the movementof the film stops.
 12. The recording apparatus as recited in claim 11wherein said marking means includes means responsive to said timingcircuit for providing a high-voltage spark to mark the record material.